Our Lady of Banneux

Our Lady Of Banneux

"Our Lady of Banneux" is the sobriquet given to the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Mariette Beco, an adolescent girl living in Banneux, province of Liège (Belgium). Between January 15 and March 2, 1933, Beco told her family and parish priest of seeing a Lady in white who declared herself to be the "Virgin of the Poor", saying I come to relieve suffering and believe in me and I will believe in you. In one of these visions, Beco said the Lady asked her to drink from a small spring, telling her the spring was for healing and "for all nations". Over time the site drew pilgrims. Today, the small spring yields about 2,000 gallons of water a day with many reports of miraculous healings.

Her claims were subject to an official investigation from 1935 to 1937 by an episcopal commission. The evidence collected was submitted to Rome for further analysis. In May 1942 Bishop Kerkhofs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Liège (Belgium) gave a first recognition of the authenticity of the reports. Then, in 1947, approval for the apparitions came from the Holy See. It was declared definite in 1949.

After the apparitions, Beco decided to remain a private person, married and led a quiet family life. A small chapel stands where the Virgin of the Poor is said to have requested it to be built.

Beco died 2 December 2011 at the age of 90. In 2008 she made a final statement about her role in the apparitions: "I was no more than a postman who delivers the mail. Once this has been done, the postman is of no importance any more".